Digital MarketingSolved Blog

What Growth in Social Media Advertising Means for Small Businesses

When targeted well, social media ads offer far greater value than many other forms of digital or traditional marketing. As Marketing Land notes, Facebook ad revenue grew to an estimated $8.4 billion in just 10 years, and other social networks, from Twitter to LinkedIn to Pinterest, have also jumped into the mix. The current market is seeing major growth in social media advertising, and this growth is only expected to increase over the next few years. Small business owners should be excited about what this new form of targeting means for their current efforts. A well-run social campaign can offer incredible value and high returns.

Targets, Better Results

Social media platforms have enormous user bases, which makes targeting all the more easy because businesses can be pickier about who is exposed to their social ads. Targeting comes in many different forms: you can target based on behavior and existing connections, by using declared social interests to identify likely interested parties or by using your own custom targeting information to reach consumers via phone or email.

The more you narrow down your potential targets, the easier it will be for you to reach a highly relevant audience that is made up of individuals who are likely to have an interest in what your company offers.

Tracking Your Conversions and ROI

Digital marketing makes targeting easy, but tracking your conversions and ROI can still be difficult. Certain forms of digital marketing do not clearly show how much business is being driven. Hard-to-read analytics and ROI indicators can work to prevent businesses from understanding whether or not their campaign is successful.

Social media platforms have created efficient tracking tools. The growth in social media advertising has been spurred on by the ease with which small businesses can see how social ads are earning engagements and driving conversions. A clearer picture of a brand's ROI makes it easier for business owners to increase spending on these campaigns, since they know what they're getting in return.

Mobile Ads

Small businesses often struggle to accommodate mobile technology. This can sometimes be an expensive venture, as mobile websites and apps require development dollars. As a result, many small businesses avoid mobile until their financial situation matures.

Social media can be an easy fix to this problem, though. These platforms provide an effective way for small businesses to present themselves via mobile in the early stages of their company. Social media's advertisements are very mobile-friendly, which makes it easy for small businesses to reach consumers through this outlet. According to Marketing Land, 68 percent of Facebook's revenue comes from mobile ads. In Twitter's case, that number jumps up to 84 percent. Businesses are investing in their mobile ads because these ads are getting great results.

Social media can provide you with a free online presence for your business, but you will only get the most out of these platforms if you invest in the ads.